World

Militants attack Yemen army camp, air force retaliates

SANAA (Reuters) - Suspected al Qaeda-linked militants attacked an army base in Yemen on Thursday, triggering clashes that killed nine soldiers and retaliatory strikes from the air force, a local government official and witnesses said.

Explosions rang out around the camp in the city of Radda, more than 100 km (60 miles) south of the capital Sanaa, witnesses told Reuters.

Yemen, which sits next to the world's top oil exporter Saudi Arabia and key shipping lanes, is home to one of al Qaeda's most active wings.

Islamist militants took advantage of chaos surrounding a popular uprising in 2011 to strengthen their hold on some southern areas, piling pressure on a government already facing northern rebels, southern secessionists and an economic crisis.

The militants had managed to get into the army camp and seized three army vehicles, said the official and witnesses, who asked not to be named.

The attack appeared to be in retaliation for an earlier unexplained explosion in the area that killed two militants on a motorbike, they added.